February 2015 Comic Book Reviews

The Orphan Blade
M. Nicholas Almand
Oni Press
Street: 12.09.14
While not typically the genre or style I would normally pick up, The Orphan Blade was one of the most enjoyable reads that I’ve had in the past few weeks. The overall story line is kept clean and simple. An amputee orphan named Hadashi comes across a magic wooden sword (The Orphan Blade) and explores its gift-like curse. The simplicity was a refreshing break from my usual reads—no loose ends were stuck between my teeth needing endless picking. The villainous Five Fingers of Death were my favorite band of hired hitmen I’ve come across. This probably had everything to do with a cannibalistic 16-year-old they run across, because people eating people is funny. The only misleading aspect of the story was Dr. Africa, with whom the story starts and then later pulls back into the mix after a long drought of never seeing him. While his character is needed to educate the main characters (Hadashi, Soyako and Katze) he either needs to die tragically or pick up his role a little. My malcontent stems from the lack of direction with his character—whether he will become a mentor to the kids or a needless accessory. I wouldn’t mind stumbling across a “part two” in the future. It’s all very Orphan Annie meets Kung Fu Panda meets One Piece. –Andrea Silva

Secret History Omnibus: Vol 3.
BOOM! Studios
Jean-Pierre Pecau
Archaia
Street: 09.02.14
If you want to read a comic that explains and manipulates every conspiracy theory on every historical event, then you’re in the right place. The cover for Secret History: Omnibus Vol 3 does not prepare you for what is about to hit your eyeballs. Everything starts out calm—as you’re watching a general head to a rendezvous and then, without delay, ALIENS! Trans-dimensional demons! The occult! It continues from there. This book is an interesting twist on history with gorgeous art and fun writing. It isn’t for those looking to have a serious conversation about WWII—far from it, in fact. It’s geared toward people who want to see a beautiful take on an alternate idea of history. This takes stuff that Raiders of the Lost Ark touched on and blows it way, way out of proportion, much to my delight. This is a great gift/read for anyone interested in the supernatural. –Thomas Winkley

The Walking Dead Volume 22: A New Beginning
Robert Kirkman
Image Comics
Street: 11.11.14
HOLY. FUCK. I said holy fuck, you guys. There has been many a twist and a turn in The Walking Dead comic series, but the ending of this volume—holy fuck, this was the greatest reveal/cliffhanger of the whole damn 22 volumes. I liked the ending of Volume 21 because it gave some long-wanted hope to the characters within the series—much of that hope is seen unfolding throughout Volume 22—but I was completely unsure of where writer/creator Robert Kirkman would take the story from there. If the final pages of Volume 22 are a solid indication, Kirkman is about to take us on a detour from this dystopian, apocalyptic zombie tale and drive headfirst into some goddamn horror. Volume 22 kicks off around one to two years after the end of Volume 21, and it’s clear that the communities of survivors have been working hard toward returning to some form of civilization since we last saw them. Everything is bright and shiny in their new world, but there are flickers of darkness throughout that culminate in that previously mentioned reveal/cliffhanger. I was previously considering taking The Walking Dead off my hold list at my local comic book shop, but after this, I’ll never doubt Robert Kirkman again. –John Ford